Ganga says Enough !!!

It just so happens that I vehemently try and remember the long lost mythological stories of my childhood these days. I had no idea when I heard these stories that there would come a day that I would forget them and voices which narrated these stories will be lost forever. Or else, I would have written down these stories somewhere. The people who narrated these pieces are long gone and I have to rely on my fading memory which is desperately trying to hold onto last shreds of this ancestral treasure of countless stories which are all but half-remembered dream I hope never to forget.

One such story is that of Ganga; the daughter of majestic mountain Himalaya. Ganga is believed to have been sent down on earth for the sole purpose of relieving the human race from the endless cycle of birth and death and rebirth. The river takes upon herself all our sins, thus cleansing us and still remains pure. Poor Ganga !! Destined to kill her own sons to absolve them of their sins. Ganga! Who was once labeled too fast & difficult to control and as a result ended up all tangled in the endless hair locks of Shiv himself? How convenient this all sounds right? We have been given an easy outlet to dump all our sins and just in case it is felt that Ganga is going out of bounds, there is a Shiv to control her. But what if Shiv did not control her and it was Ganga’s decision herself to go and sit on Shiv’s head to cool of his infamous temper? Why blame Ganga of being out of bound? Why not question Shiv’s temper? I am digressing towards Feminazism people. I acknowledge and am Sorry !! Back to the topic…

Why this sudden surge of empathy towards Ganga? I had an opportunity to go on a trip at the banks of the river and I somehow had sleepless nights a few days before the trip in happy anticipation of walking barefooted on its banks at night, feeling cool sand against my skin and listening to the river roar at night. What conspired however totally disappointed me. Now, I am not a fanatic Hindu, I am ashamed to say that I do not care about the environment as much as I should but when I saw broken beer bottles, plastic bottles, polythene bags and used up condoms at the bank of the river, I took personal offense. There is this person who cleans up our sins and is equally essential for our survival and this is how we treat her?

Have you ever wondered what would happen if one fine day Ganga calls quits? What would happen if Ganga gets up and says go to hell you morons, I am not taking your crap and condoms any longer and keep your sins to yourself. I am leaving, to hell with you and your sins. The way we are treating her is totally disrespectful and it is only a matter of time when Ganga finally loses her patience. I will tell you what would happen when such a day comes. All hell would break loose and we will have no place to hide that day.

We have two options with us, either we start treating Ganga with the respect she is entitled to or else we make our own shoulders strong enough to carry the burden of our sins. Because I feel Ganga had enough already! Spare her now people.